Godson86 Reviews

Godson86 Reviews

I thought I would take a stab at reviewing this movie I just got done watching. For the most part I'm not a great reviewer of film (I recall giving Transporter 2 a B+...shutter) but I do need to keep up on my writing skills. Since I graduated last May from college I have had very little opportunity to write anything. And like with any skill you will lose it if you don't use it...just like sex skills. So here we go, buckle in and enjoy.

Lust, Caution is set in WWII China. Here we get a glimpse of Chinese citizens having to endure the Japanese might, and witness their once thriving communities become the Japanese's playground.

It is during the 1st opening minutes where we meet Wong Chia Chi, played by Wei Tang, as she is attending university in China, and the soldiers are fighting someplace in Manchuria. We never see the war, but we see the Japanese's Imperialistic oppression in clear view.

During her studies, Wong Chi slowly develops into her own woman, capable of making her own decisions. When she is thrust into the staring role in a revolutionary play, put on to encourage patriotic support for the Chinese soldiers, she easily makes it her own, thus winning the respect of her classmates, and finding encouragement within herself. And she will need that confidence to overcome the films antagonist, and all around baddie Tony Leung.

You see Wong Chi and the rest of her theater troupe decide to put their acting skills (deception skills) up to the challenge of taking down Mr. Yee (Leung). Yee, like most opportunists, takes advantage of the switch in government powers during the turmoil in China and essentially sells his own people out in order to benefit the Japanese occupiers. He is in charge of breaking up and arresting resistance fighters in the region. So it is Wong Chi's responsibility to befriend Mr. Yee's wife and get close enough to the ever cautious Yee to bring him out into the open so that he can be snuffed out. Imagine having to keep up a smile and pleasant demeanor around someone you know your going to rub out.

The reviews for this film were pretty mixed but I was glad that I found myself on the positive side of the fence. I think the bar was set so high because it's an Ang Lee film that reviewers were to quick to pick it apart.

I thought the pacing was pitch perfect and surprisingly suspenseful for the low key action on screen. The tone of the film kept reminding me of The Godfather. Now this film is not in the same league, but the sense of scale and exploration of a hidden sect of society does share similarities with the classic. Plus the clothing reminded me very much of the perennial. Hell look at Leung in that suit!
Few actors can wear suits quite as well as he can. Sumbitch reminds me of Cary Grant.

Now onto what most people was wondering about the movie, the sex scenes. It was all I heard during previews for the film. Some thought they were too graphic and out of character. I thought they were terrific! No, not in the way you are thinking, you sick fuck you. I thought the scenes really showed the inner thoughts, morals & motivations of the two main leads, Tony Leung (aka God) and Wei Tang. What a great way to show the inner workings of the characters then by showing them at their most naked, innocent, honest, and animistic moment.

And speaking of Ms. Tang and her role, the role her character must portray to complete her assignment, the sacrifices she must make, is truly heartbreaking. All the while you are watching the movie you will want to strangle her bosses for making her do what she must do. And lets not make light of her plight, her mission was a righteous one, but the things she must do to complete it is disturbing and makes you question the justification of struggle. Ms. Tang is nothing short of awesome in this film and I can't wait to see more of her work.

In simple terms I give this film a solid B+. Ang Lee hits another one out of the ballpark, but you don't get the monster grand slams you know he is capable of (Eat Drink Man And Woman/ The Ice Storm) but he does deliver a lasting movie that is both enlightening and entertaining. (I gave it a 8/10 on imdb.com so you can gauge from there if you want).

I hope you enjoyed my attempt at a review. Pretty amateurish at best, but this is how everyone starts out. I'm going to see a slew of movies over the weekend so maybe I'll continue with this thing I got going on. Or maybe I'll just write about something totally different. The main goal is for me to keep my skills up so I don't loose it all.

Comments (2)

This is a great film..

I mentioned it in my blog a month or two ago. I recommended it to a few people and warned them about the sex scenes ahead of time. Tony Leung is one of my favorite male asian actors. HAve you seen 2046?

Hey

I'll check out your post on the movie. And yeah I did see 2046. I thought it was pretty damn good, but then again it is a Wong Kar Wai film, so when is it not going to be good? Have you seen In the Mood for Love? 2046 is its sequel and part of a trilogy, Chunking Express is the other film but I haven't seen that one yet.